British Tabloids Are Printing Naked Pictures Of The First Female Dr. Who

Olivia HarrisonJul 18, 2017 12:10 PM

Photo: Rune Hellestad/Corbis/Getty Images.

Over the weekend, it was announced that for the first time since Dr. Who premiered nearly 55 years ago, a woman has been cast as the doctor. We were overjoyed by this wonderful news and couldn't help but think that the decision was a sign that things are moving in the right direction for women in entertainment. Well, we didn’t have long to bask in our excitement before the world reminded us that it’s filled with a lot of garbage people, the type of people who are just as excited about announcements like this because it gives them an opportunity to be openly sexist in the lowest way. Just one day after actress Jodie Whittaker was tapped as the first female Dr. Who, some British tabloids published nude photos of the actress and write ups on her various nude scenes in past projects. And all we can think is this would never happen to a male actor.

Though there was plenty of enthusiasm about Whittaker's casting, we weren't at all surprised to see some sexist comments about a woman being chosen as the next Dr. Who. The sci-fi genre is notoriously hard for women to break into. However, the fact that some publications chose to treat this announcement as an excuse to talk about the actress' past sex scene is blatantly disrespectful. Bringing up the irrelevant fact that she has been nude in past roles completely undercuts her talent. Whittaker has starred in three seasons of the award-winning British drama Broadchurch and appeared in the 2006 Oscar-nominated film Venus, and all these people can talk about is her breasts? It's unacceptable. Thankfully, many people have noticed what these tabloids are doing, and the sexism is not sitting right with them.

All we can say is that the way these publications handled the announcement of Jodie Whittaker as the new Dr. Who does nothing to diminish our excitement that the role will be taken on by an accomplished actress. In fact, quite the opposite. As so many have stated on social media, this sexism just proves that we need a female Dr. Who now more than ever.